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| ( ´ ) | l’accent aigu (the acute accent) | café |
| ( ` ) | l’accent grave (the grave accent) | où |
| ( ˆ ) | l’accent circonflex (the circumflex accent) | âge |
| ( ç ) | la cédille (the cedilla) | garçon |
| ( ’ ) | l’apostrophe (the apostrophe) | l’eau |
| ( ¨ ) | le tréma (the diaeresis) | Noël |
| ( - ) | le trait d’union (the hyphen) | est-il? |
Signes de Ponctuation
| ( . ) | le point | ( ? ) | le point d’interrogation |
| ( , ) | la virgule | ( ! ) | le point d’exclamation |
| ( ; ) | le point-virgule | ( ) | les parenthèses |
| ( : ) | les deux points | « » | les guillemets français |
| ( - ) | le tiret | ( … ) | les points de suspension |
Typing French Characters
The easiest way to insert French characters into a Microsoft Word document is to click on the Insert menu and select Symbol. Then, double-click on the character that you wish to insert into your document.
Note: If you are on a laptop, you will need to use this method for inserting special characters. You can also go to Start > Run and type in charmap, or Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map to retrieve this tool.
You can also use the following alt codes to type the symbols on a PC. First, make sure you've turned on the number lock. Then simply hold down the alt key on your keyboard as you type the numbers on the number pad. Use the chart below.
| Character | alt Code |
|---|---|
| Acute Accents | |
| é | alt + 0233 |
| É | alt + 0201 |
| Grave Accents | |
| à | alt + 0224 |
| À | alt + 0192 |
| è | alt + 0232 | ù | alt + 0249 |
| Circumflexes | |
| â | alt + 0226 |
| ê | alt + 0234 |
| Ê | alt + 0202 |
| î | alt + 0238 |
| ô | alt + 0244 |
| û | alt + 0251 |
| Diaeresis | |
| ë | alt + 0235 |
| ï | alt + 0239 |
| ö | alt + 0246 |
| ü | alt +0252 |
| Other Characters | |
| ç | alt + 0231 |
| Ç | alt + 0199 |
| æ | alt + 0230 |
| œ | alt + 0156 |
| « | alt + 0171 |
| » | alt + 0187 |
If you are using a Macintosh, use the following commands to insert the French accents:
| Character | Command |
|---|---|
| Acute Accents | |
| é | Press Option and e together, then press e again |
| Grave Accents | |
| à | Press Option and the grave accent key (`) together, then press a |
| è | Press Option and the grave accent key (`) together, then press e |
| ù | Press Option and the grave accent key (`) together, then press u |
| Circumflexes | |
| â | Press Option and i together, then press a |
| ê | Press Option and i together, then press e |
| î | Press Option and i together, then press i again |
| ô | Press Option and i together, then press o |
| û | Press Option and i together, then press u |
| Diaeresis | |
| ë | Press Option and u together, then press e |
| ö | Press Option and u together, then press o |
| ü | Press Option and u together, then press u |
| Other Characters | |
| ç | Press Option and c together |
| œ | Press Option and q together |
| « | Press Option and (\) together |
| » | Press Option, Shift, and (\) together |
To type any capitalized character, press the Shift key—for example, to type Ç, press Option, Shift, and c all together.